One Weekend in Berlin – Part Two

Continuing from my last Berlin post, which you can find here, we were just about ready to explore Berlin. None of us had ever been to Germany before, and had no idea of the language with the exception of my one year learning German at school.

Armed only with a map and basic directions to the main tourist spots, we set off towards the Berlin wall. For those who don’t know, the Berlin wall was erected in the 1960s to segregate West Berlin and East Berlin. Now all that remains are a few sections, including the one we visited- the East side Gallery. Covered in gorgeous murals, it’s a stark contrast to the Lennon wall in Prague, being that the scenes depicted are all well thought out and not just random graffiti everywhere.

Another notable sight that day was the TV tower, much like Prague’s but with a large spherical viewing platform on the top, and a noticeable lack of babies crawling the side. Sadly, the cost to go up the tower was a little more than we could afford, and the system was slightly flawed in that you could buy a ticket but not be guaranteed to go up the tower any time soon.

The next day we visited Museum island, home to five different museums, all with lovely architecture and surely filled with stunning exhibits. Once again, the entry fee was out of our price range, especially for all five museums, and we contented ourselves with admiring the pretty buildings.

Then came, arguably, the most famous sight in Berlin. Brandenburg Gate. A popular tourist spot, Brandenburg Gate has been the site of many political scenes, and is now one of the most well-known places in Germany. Whilst being a spectacular sight during the day, the gate really comes alive at night, when there are less tourists and the whole structure is lit up against an inky black sky.

Finally, the last place we visited was the Jewish museum. Dedicated to the Jewish population of Germany who have settled there since Roman times, the museum itself boasts several art spaces dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust. These include an art piece named “fallen leaves”, a wide open space filled with six million metal faces, depicting the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, and the Garden of Exile, specifically engineered to make those who walk inside it feel overwhelmed and possibly nauseous, bringing about feelings of how those forced into exile from Germany felt during the war.

Berlin itself is a city filled with rich history and incredible buildings. Whilst I had an excellent weekend there, it was definitely nice to come back to Prague, which in my eyes will always be the prettiest city I’ve ever seen. But if you’re desperate to try out a new culture, then I’d definitely recommend a weekend trip to Berlin- just make sure you try the Currywurst! (sausage, ketchup and curry powder).